In Mchinji District. Traditional Authority (T/A) Kapondo, the Carmelite Missionaries Sisters from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish (Kapiri), are transforming lives through their Eco Women project. This initiative focuses on merging environmental conservation with women’s empowerment, offering skills and hope to rural communities in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe.

Since its launch, the Eco Women project has helped women combat deforestation, soil erosion, and others while fostering economic independence. Women learn tree planting, organic farming, pig farming, and waste management. Additionally, literacy classes teach reading, writing, and numeracy—skills many participants never had before.

Starting with literacy, women advance to vocational training in tailoring, embroidery, and sewing. These skills have sparked micro-enterprises like tailoring business and cooperatives. “We don’t just teach—we walk with them until they can stand on their own,” said Sister Modester Nkhata, the project director.

Group Village Head Bauti praised the program’s success, noting improved incomes, restored lands, and different developments in his area. “Women now run tree nurseries and vegetable farms, bringing dignity and resilience to their communities”

The journey hasn’t been without barriers. Cultural taboos, such as husbands fearing women’s gatherings, still limit participation. The sisters address this through community dialogues, gradually winning support. “When fathers see their children benefiting, mindsets change,” Sister Modester explained.

The Eco Women project has become a lifeline for participants, enabling them to support their families and communities. “I now earn enough to pay my daughter’s school fees,” shared a proud tailor. Around her, seedlings awaited planting—symbols of a greener, more equitable future.

As Sister Modester aptly put it, “When you empower a woman, you nourish a family, protect the Earth, and transform a nation.”

By Titus Jata Phiri

Lotus Resources Limited, an Australian mining company, has announced plans to resume operations at the Kayerekera uranium mine in Karonga district in June. The mine has been closed since 2014 due to consistently low uranium prices.

This was disclosed on Wednesday during a meeting which Lotus Resources Limited officials held with the Minister of Mining Kenneth Zikhale Ng’oma at the ministry’s offices in Lilongwe.

Lotus Resources Limited Managing Director Greg Bittar, said the company is on the right track to resume mining operations and processes within the third quarter of the year.

Bittar further said the company has already employed over 300 local workers at the site.

“Operations will resume in June 2025 with production of the first product expected one or two months after the resumption of production,” he said.

Bittar added that the company signed the Community Development Agreement (CDA) in January, 2025 for the company to provide a broad support to the local communities.

Bittar highlighted that the company is working on environmental assessment issues as currently a draft on the same has been submitted to Malawi Environmental Protection Authority (MEPA).

In his remarks, Mining minister Kenneth Zikhale Ng’oma underscored the importance of community participation in the Mining activities, which is essential for the country to achieve its flagship ATM (Affordable Technology and Mining) strategy.

He expressed the government’s commitment to collaborating with the company to facilitate mining activities.

Meanwhile,the Minister expressed optimism that the economy will improve, considering that the closure of the Kayerekera uranium mine had a detrimental impact on the country’s financial health.

Lotus Resources Limited owns 85% of the Kayerekera Uranium project in Malawi.

The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has launched the Global Money Week which seeks to raise financial literacy among young and to help them gradually acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed to make wise financial decisions and eventually attain financial resilience and well-being.

Speaking during the launch on Monday at Bangwe Secondary School in Blantyre, RBM’s Chief Examiner – Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy Madalitso Chamba urged the young people in the country to embrace the culture of saving money saying it is critical for their future.

“We may say children have no money, but these children, they manage money. They have pocket money, and how they are spending that pocket money matters,” she stated.

She added that, “What is important for them are the resources. If somebody has 10,000, out of that 10,000 is a child able to serve. And whatever amount the child is serving, what are they doing with the savings? So those are the resources that we are teaching, that we are incorporating, so that when these students graduate from school, they are able to use those resources in their lives.”

A form-four student at Bangwe Secondary School, McCollin Petro discusses what he believes to be a crucial component of saving money.

“These messages are very good, in my opinion. I have been motivated because I believe that I have used money excessively in the past. However, I am determined to use money properly moving forward, especially since we will be going to the world after the exam” he explained.

According to the central bank, a number of activities have been lined up targeting students across the country to sensitize them on financial literacy.

This is the 13th edition of Global Money Week which is taking place from March 17-23, 2025. It began in 2012 and has now expanded to 176 countries, reaching over 60 million children and youth.

The week is being commemorated under the theme, “Think before you follow, wise money tomorrow”.

The Malawi Network of Older Persons’ Organisations (MANEPO) says older persons need to be reached with health services in the closest places possible if the country wants to achieve a better quality of life for them.

This has been singled out as the organization implements the BMZ Project, which aims to provide age-appropriate and integrated health services to older men and women in Zomba, Balaka, and Machinga districts, especially those afflicted with HIV/AIDS and non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

BMZ project manager Maria Masiye says they have already trained healthcare workers, health surveillance assistants, and community volunteers to enhance health monitoring, including blood pressure checks in older people.

She says that through the promotion of inclusive healthcare policies, the establishment of community-based support networks, and attention to their unique health requirements, the project is improving the quality and accessibility of healthcare for older persons as one way of helping them live happily.

Masiye further states that this is one way of addressing challenges such as travel distance for those in need, citing long distances to health facilities in most areas.

The project which started in 2023 receives funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Help Age German.

The Catholic Development Commission (CADECOM) in the archdiocese of Lilongwe, in partnership with Permaculture Paradise Institute is implementing the “Improved Livelihood and Resilience of Smallholder Producers” project, with financial support from Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), and DanChurch Aid (DCA), aiming at bolstering food security and economic resilience through agroecology.

According to the secretary of CADECOM in the archdiocese, Madalitso Chilalire, the project focuses on empowering farmers with the skills and knowledge to produce diverse and nutritious food crops year-round, utilizing their surrounding compounds.

“We are encouraging them to grow different types of crops that mature at different stages in life so that their families are food sufficient and also are economically empowered,” Chilalire said.

He also added that the initiative has garnered positive feedback from the community, with many households actively practicing the newly acquired agroecological techniques.

This has been highlighted during a monitoring visit in Dowa, where the 750 participating farmers are actively engaged.

In her remarks, Miriam Njolomore, the nutritional advisor in Dowa district, praised the project for its alignment with the Malawi 2063 development agenda, emphasizing its contribution to addressing nutrition and food security challenges.

Njolomore added that the project will also help farmers to be gaining money and overcome the nutrition and food security challenges in their households throughout the year.

Adding on that, one of the farmers from Dowa west EPA of mponera, Lobizi kanjedza expressed his gratitude, stating that the initiative has helped him and others working with the project to improve their livelihoods in the way they never thought they will.

Cadecom envisions a cascading effect, where the 750 project beneficiaries will train an additional 700 non-participants in agroecological practices.

The project’s success in Dowa West EPA is anticipated to serve as a model for wider adoption of agroecology across the region, contributing to long-term food security and economic stability in Malawi.

By Tiyamike Paul Chisale